


destiny, fate, and whatever is written in the stars

by cardialloyed



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Ending, F/M, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Fix-It
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-15
Updated: 2020-01-15
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:20:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22263241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cardialloyed/pseuds/cardialloyed
Summary: It was just a nightmare, she tells herself. It was the same nightmare she’s had for weeks now after defeating Palpatine. The nightmare always ends the same: with Ben fading away in her arms, her hands clutching air as he fades into nothingness, and her, alone, screaming and weeping in that godforsaken Sith crypt.This isn’t the nightmare though. Here and now are her reality.
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 3
Kudos: 36
Collections: TROS Reylo Fix-it Fics





	destiny, fate, and whatever is written in the stars

She wakes, bolt upright, sweaty, and panicked. Her hands search in the dim morning light for something - _someone_ \- and her heart only begins to slow when she realizes that the someone she’s looking for is beside her. Relief floods Rey’s face as her frantic hands still. 

_It was just a nightmare_ , she tells herself. It was the same nightmare she’s had for weeks now after defeating Palpatine. The nightmare always ends the same: with Ben fading away in her arms, her hands clutching air as he fades into nothingness, and her, alone, screaming and weeping in that godforsaken Sith crypt. 

This isn’t the nightmare though. Here and now are her reality. 

Ben hasn’t faded into nothing, he’s beside her, asleep. _He is with me._

Her fingertips brush his hair aside, finding the worry lines and smoothing them away. Rey regards him for a moment before pressing a kiss gently to his forehead and lying back down beside him. It’s been hard for her to find the comfort of sleep; she often wakes in the night, disturbed by dreams and nightmares that set her mind ablaze. But the moments between the waking hours, moments like this, the lack of sleep doesn’t bother her. The rise and fall of Ben’s chest, seeing his lips part slightly as he exhales - she could watch it forever (but also, it reminds her that he’s with her). 

“Rey.” 

She wakes with a start at the sound of her name, unsure about how much time has passed. As her vision focuses, she reaches for him, the tips of her fingertips brushing against his cheeks and his lips before he catches them. A warmth spreads through her as Ben presses a kiss to her fingertips. A soft sound escapes her, caught somewhere between a content sigh and a sob. Funny how such a small motion could elicit such a feeling from her.

“I keep thinking you’re not here,” she manages as she realizes that in her short slumber, her mind decided to play tricks on her again. “I keep thinking that you’re gone and that I’m alone on Exogol.” This isn’t the first time she’s thought about these things. Nor is it the first time that she’s had that very same nightmare. This is the first time, however, that she’s voiced them out loud.

Rey knew long before this, long before their final stand against Palpatine on Exogol, that Ben could probably see her dreams. Something in his eyes confirms that. But it also says that he understands and that he knows. A part of her expects him to say something famously snarky, but instead, he’s patient while she breathlessly airs her worries and fears. 

What sounds like senselessness spills from her lips. It’s run-on sentence after run-on sentence, and she inhales - thinking that there’s more - only to find that there are no words left for her to explain. Ben waits a beat, holding her gaze before gently smoothing away the lines of worry between her forehead the way she had done to him mere moments ago. His touch makes her release the breath she had been holding, and Rey realizes that it’s the connection between them that causes her to tremble the way she does. She leans into his touch, taking his hand and pressing it against her cheek, closing her eyes to savour the warmth and commit to memory. 

A whisper of a smile tugs at the corner of Ben’s lips as if knowing exactly why she was holding onto him the way she is. “You know you don’t have to dig your nails into me like that. I’m not going to fade into the Force.” Rey scoffs, sniffling a bit as she loosens her grip and shuffling away from him making Ben laugh. It’s a deep, warm sound. A sound that she’s still getting used to. A sound that she would never get tired of hearing for the rest of her life. “Rey, come here.” One arm wraps around her back, tugging her close, the other pressing her hand to his chest. 

Their foreheads touch, and she feels that jolt of electricity once again. Her breathing slows, and so does the thrum of heart, slowing to match his until they’re one. Slowly, so slowly, her eyes shut, as she’s soothed by the sound. Stars burst from behind her eyes and she can hear him speaking to her clear as day, even though she knows that his lips are still. 

_Wherever we go in this galaxy, no matter what happens, I’m with you. And I will always be with you._

For the first time in a long time, she begins to believe the call she had so desperately put out into the galaxy. The cry for belonging. For companionship. For someone to not just be there but to love her too. There had been a missing piece in her ragtag group of friends and family, and this - _Ben_ is it. They had found one another. They are never going to let go. 

_I’m with you, Ben._

_I’ll always be with you, Rey._

**Author's Note:**

> \- quick and dirty fix-it that needed to get out of my head   
> \- title taken from an Anaïs Nin quote


End file.
